Conjure Oils Toby Daye Collection Reviews: Dare and Toby Daye

I was so excited to get this sampler collection yesterday!  And I must give a shout out to Vajra of Conjure Oils for excellent customer service.  Due to unforeseen delays with my order, she sent me a code for a free bottle with my next order. Above and beyond.

Anyway - I had read good things about Dare, and I was headed out the door first thing today, so that's what I put on to skin test first.  The description on the Conjure Oils site says:

"Dare had managed to find a heavy denim jacket that clanked when she moved; considering how many knives she'd been able to conceal without the coat, I decided I didn't want to ask.  Between that, the miniskirt and high heels, and the midriff-baring shirt that read 'Porn Star in Training,' she wasn't exactly in the running for Miss Subtle USA.

Dangerous black amber and Pippin apples, still unspoiled".

If you've read the first book in the series by Seanan McGuire, then you know all you need to know about Dare. If you haven't, go get it and read it.  The review for the scent will be here when you get back....

Amber and Apple - it's a combination I hadn't considered, but possibly I should have. I saw another review for this oil that mentioned caramel.  Well, I don't get caramel, but the amber definitely adds a depth and roundness.  I do definitely get an apple vibe, but it's not a fresh, juicy apple. It's more of a dried apple with a hint of smokey spice (maybe that's the black amber?) This is the first oil I've ever tried that I have been able to identify a smokey scent, so I'm pretty stoked!  I think I might need a full bottle of this one, I can definitely see me choosing it a lot as an Autumn scent.

Toby Daye is, of course, the heroine of the book series.  Every time she uses her magic, it is mentioned that the scent of copper and cut grass surrounds her.  As unusual as it sounds (and usually I pick scents for notes I think I'll like, not for novelty's sake), I had to include this in the sampler set, and it was one of the scents I was most anxious to try.  I mean, it's TOBY.....

From the Conjure Oils site:
"I backed into the shadows of the bushes, kneeling to run my fingers through the damp grass.  My own magic rose around me, the taste of copper and cut grass hanging in the air until the spell caught hold with an almost-audible "click."  A bolt of pain shot through my temples.  Changeling magic has limits, and those limits make themselves clear when you try to go too far.  I’d mixed a marsh water charm, spun a human disguise, and now I was casting a don’t-look-here on myself.  Put it all together, and it spelled "too far."

Our heroine herself: the sweetness of newly-cut grass mingled with the bloody sharpness of copper, a changeling blend."

This is exactly what it is described as, copper pennies and cut grass.  In the pip, (what Conjure calls imps) it's almost an unpleasant tang.  On, it sweetens up a bit, but it's still true to the description, the taste/tang of copper pennies and the sweetness of cut grass.  As it dries, it sweetens up even more, but it's still recognizable as exactly what it says.  Needless to say, this is an unusual blend.  Those perfume oil connoisseurs who prefer the more out of the ordinary notes like smoke, leather, and asphalt will probably appreciate this.  As for me - I like the more traditional scents and though this is definitely not unpleasant when it's on, I don't think I'll need a bottle, though it is an intriguing concept.   However, when I had Chris smell this one, he said something to the effect of it was perfume but not perfume and it was very mysterious.  Hmmm...maybe I'd better rethink not getting a bottle....